Quinceañera

"It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today." Isaac Asimov

There isn't much more that could happen to a 14 year-old Latino girl than occurs in Quincearnera, a stew simmered in the Echo-Park section of Los Angeles.Change is the dominant motif as it affects every major and sub-plot point to the point that nothing is explored in depth while much happens.

Before the celebration of her Quincearnera (15th birthday, when a girl becomes a woman, Magdalena (Emily Rios) is pregnant although the circumstances are questionable if not downright miraculous; bad boy brother Carlos (Jesse Garcia) is gay; they and their old uncle Tomas (Chalo Gonzalez), who has kindly sheltered the two after they are shunned by the family, face eviction as the area is going to gentrification faster than you can say the film's title. The change also visits her dad, who struggles to accept his shameful daughter despite the cultural negativity.

Directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland drive their camera through and around the streets of Echo Park and the yards and living rooms to fulfill the promise of the production company, Kitchen Sink. The kitchen-sink movement in the 50's and 60's especially in England showed basic working class family life, such as Mike Leigh currently does, and still allowed the old higher-class staples of irony, tragedy, and comedy take their rightful place. In Quincearnera, however, the topics are subsumed under the change idiom, allowing the directors to use the gays-smartly-investing-in real-estate motif without much to say other than rents become very high.

Although Magdalena's pregnancy seems to be the center of the tale, the film also touches on the changing fortunes of minorities, the emergence of gays as both owners and landlords, the challenges of adolescence, and the power of family. For those subjects, I applaud these directors.

A slice of life from a very recognizable other planet. The Echo Park section of Los Angeles. It could be so many other places and at the same time it couldn't be anywhere else. New life and death co-mingling in almost perfect harmony. Love coming out of the most unexpected quarters, heroic gestures, prejudice and solitude. There is much to commend in this tiny tale with major implications. Two directors with a compassionate look and real affection. For me, personally, meant the introduction to a major talent: Jesse Garcia. He plays a character that seems to walk a permanent tight rope and yet he is so completely himself that you can't take your eyes of the guy because you know for certain he is going to surprise you in the best possible way. Excellent.

I just had the pleasure of catching this lovely gem QUINCEANERA (aka: Echo Park, L.A. in Europe) and I absolutely adored it. It was so refreshing to see a movie about Mexican Americans that wasn't all about gang violence and drugs. This is a lovely and insightful film about family, tradition and life as a Latino in Los Angeles, California. This film deals with a lot of issues from homosexuality, teen pregnancy, family, racism... without ever seeming preachy or forced. The acting by the two leads is some of the finest I've seen in a while and I'm a movie addict. And just when you think the film is about to stumble into the world of cliché it's lifted to an even higher level of beauty and realism. I don' know what else to say without giving away too much other than see this film and you won't be disappointed. This is by far one of the best and most rewarding films I've seen so far this year and that's saying a lot from a guy that sees way too many movies. See this movie and tell your friends about it because they don't make enough movies like this and this kind of art needs our support.

I think this movie will have universal appeal. This story of family learning to accept each other, along with coming of age, and changing urban centers will resonate with people around the country no matter whether they know what a quinceñera is or not.

The cast is mostly non-union, and the performances they give are brave and fresh. Three cheers for Emily Rios and Jesse Garcia, who played the leads, and cousins, who are struggling with acceptance from their parents, and take shelter with their elderly great-uncle.

I also saw this at Sundance, and the film got a standing ovation. I was surprised it took both the Grand Jury and Audience Awards, but not surprised it resonated on such a fundamental level with the cast.

Directors Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer said they began writing the story on New Year's Day of 2005, and the entire thing came together fast - 3 weeks for financing, another three to film on their very own street of Echo Park.

I think it's specific enough to interest people, and universal enough to keep them watching.

In L.A., Magdalena (Emily Rios) is approaching her 15th birthday when girls celebrate their quinceañera. She attends her cousin Eileen's quinceañera. Eileen's older brother Carlos is kicked out having been disowned by the family for being gay. Magdalena gets pregnant by her boyfriend Herman. Her father kicks her out and she is forced to live with her great-granduncle Tomas who had also taken in the troubled Carlos.

This is a small indie of the world of a Latino girl. It's great to see into this slice of life. The acting is naturalistic. The leads are good. There is one scene with Tomas in the backyard contemplating being evicted which is utterly heartbreaking. Both Magdalena and Carlos face a long expected rejection. The eventual reveal of the specifics of Magdalena's pregnancy does trouble me a little. It's a convenient easy way to let her father deal with the pregnancy without actually dealing with it. In the end, this is a story about Tomas.